Post-hatch heat warms adult beaks: irreversible physiological plasticity in Japanese quail

Across taxa, the early rearing environment contributes to adult morphological and physiological variation. For example, in birds, environmental temperature plays a key role in shaping bill size and clinal trends across latitudinal/thermal gradients. Such patterns support the role of the bill as a thermal window and in thermal balance. It remains unknown whether bill size and thermal function are reversibly plastic. We raised Japanese quail in warm (308C) or cold (158C) environments and then at a common intermediate temperature. We predicted that birds raised in cold temperatures would develop smaller bills than warm-reared individuals, and that regulation of blood flow to the bill in response to changing temperatures would parallel the bill’s role in thermal balance. Cold-reared birds developed shorter bills, although bill size exhibited ‘catch-up’ growth once adults were placed at a common temperature. Despite having lived in a common thermal environment as adults, individuals that were initially reared in the warmth had higher bill surface temperatures than coldreared individuals, particularly under cold conditions. This suggests that blood vessel density and/or the control over blood flow in the bill retained a memory of early thermal ontogeny. We conclude that post-hatch temperature reversibly affects adult bill morphology but irreversibly influences the thermal physiological role of bills and may play an underappreciated role in avian energetics

Collaborative learning in a Japanese as a foreign language classroom /

This study examined the influence of training on Asian learners' beliefs, interaction, and attitudes during collaborative learning (CL) and explored the processes of their CL in pairs. The literature contains few studies on the effect of collaborative training in language learning. In addition, it shows gaps between SLA theory and practice resulting from learners' cultural differences. Although second/subsequent language acquisition (SLA) theory assumes that CL contributes to language learning, implementing CL in a multicultural classroom is often considered to be unsuccessful by teachers. The research questions designed to address this gap explore: (a) the extent to which tra~ng affects Asian learners' attitudes towards and interaction during CL; (b) how Asian learners accomplish collaborative tasks in pairs. In the quasi-experimental research design, the learners in the treatment group received special training in CL for 5 weeks while the learners in the comparison group did not receive similar training. Data were collected from 45 McMaster University students through pre- and posttests, pre- and postintervention questionnaires, student information, and informal classroom observations. To detennine the influence of training, the frequency of communication units (c-units), Language Related Episodes (LREs), Collaborative Dialogue (CD) from audio-taped data, and the fmal draft scores were compared between pre- and posttests. The learners' pre- and postintervention questionnaires were also compared. Transcripts from audio-taped data, students' information, their responses and comments from questionnaires, and informal observations served to investigate the processes of Asian learners' CL. Overall, this study found that training had significant influence on the frequency of c-units and CD, and considerable impact on the draft scores, although little influence on the frequency of LREs was observed. The results from the questionnaires in the treatment group showed positive changes in the learners' beliefs on pair work after training. On the other hand, analyses of the transcription data showed that the learners did not conduct enough discussion for a resolution of problems with peers. In conclusion, results suggested the need for teacher intervention, a longer period of collaborative training, and an implementation of self-evaluation into the course grade to encourage the learners to succeed in collaborative learning.

An exploration of women elementary school teachers' perceptions of how their decision to return to teaching part-time from a maternity leave influences their professional and personal lives /

The purpose of this research was to explore women elementary teachers' perceptions of how their decision to return to teaching part-time from a maternity leave influences their professional and personal lives. The investigation focused on the decisions surrounding a mother's choice to reenter the teaching profession parttime in a field where each mother had previously been employed full-time. A collective case study was undertaken based on an in-depth interview with five mothers who had made the choice to return to the classroom part-time. The data collected in this study were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative methods. The following four major themes emerged from the interviews: decisionmaking process, challenges faced by mothers who teach part-time, the importance of support, and the enhancement of instructional practice from parenthood. Using these four themes, an analysis was conducted to examine the similarities and differences among the experiences of the participants. The mothers' reflections, my analysis, and the related literature were used at the conclusion of this report to compile implications for teaching practice, theory, and further research.

Using dramatic activity to enhance Junior Core French students' motivation and oral communication skills /

Junior Core French students' motivation to learn a second language and students' French oral communication skills relating to drama instruction were investigated in this study. Students' increased and improved motivation and oral acquisition were measured by several forms of data collection including journals, questionnaires and surveys, interviews, outside observer and teacher observations, and anecdotal comments. The results indicated that as a result of drama integration in the Junior Core French classroom, grade 5 students, both male and female, were more motivated to participate in second language instruction, thereby increasing and improving their oral communication skills. The findings showed that more males than females reported that drama integration allowed them the opportunity to use their French speaking skills. Research shows that interactive approaches to teaching such as drama give students the motivation and enthusiasm to learn.

Enhancing teaching and learning speech acts: action research of Japanese as a foreign language /

This action research observes a second year Japanese class at a university where foreign language courses are elective for undergraduate students. In this study, using the six strategies to teach Japanese speech acts that Ishihara and Cohen (2006) suggested, I conducted three classes and analyzed my teaching practice with a critical friend. These strategies assist learners toward the development of their understanding of the following Japanese speech acts and also keep the learners to use them in a manner appropriate to the context: (I) invitation and refusal; (2) compliments; and (3) asking for a permission. The aim of this research is not only to improve my instruction in relation to second language (L2) pragmatic development, but also to raise further questions and to develop future research. The findings are analyzed and the data derived from my journals, artifacts, students' work, observation sheets, interviews with my critical friend, and pretests and posttests are coded and presented. The analysis shows that (I) after my critical friend encouraged my study and my students gave me some positive comments after each lesson, I gained confidence in teaching the suggested speech acts; (2) teaching involved explaining concepts and strategies, creating the visual material (a video) showing the strategies, and explaining the relationship between the strategy and grammatical forms and samples of misusing the forms; (3) students' background and learning styles influenced lessons; and (4) pretest and posttests showed that the students' Icvel of their L2 appropriate pragmatics dramatically improved after each instruction. However, after careful observation, it was noted that some factors prevented students from producing the correct output even though they understood the speech act differences.

Top-down and Bottom-up influences on ACC activation: Evaluation of a proposed model of the feedback-related negativity

The Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) is thought to reflect the dopaminergic prediction error signal from the subcortical areas to the ACC (i.e., a bottom-up signal). Two studies were conducted in order to test a new model of FRN generation, which includes direct modulating influences of medial PFC (i.e., top-down signals) on the ACC at the time of the FRN. Study 1 examined the effects of one’s sense of control (top-down) and of informative cues (bottom-up) on the FRN measures. In Study 2, sense of control and instruction-based (top-down) and probability-based expectations (bottom-up) were manipulated to test the proposed model. The results suggest that any influences of medial PFC on the activity of the ACC that occur in the context of incentive tasks are not direct. The FRN was shown to be sensitive to salient stimulus characteristics. The results of this dissertation partially support the reinforcement learning theory, in that the FRN is a marker for prediction error signal from subcortical areas. However, the pattern of results outlined here suggests that prediction errors are based on salient stimulus characteristics and are not reward specific. A second goal of this dissertation was to examine whether ACC activity, measured through the FRN, is altered in individuals at-risk for problem-gambling behaviour (PG). Individuals in this group were more sensitive to the valence of the outcome in a gambling task compared to not at-risk individuals, suggesting that gambling contexts increase the sensitivity of the reward system to valence of the outcome in individuals at risk for PG. Furthermore, at-risk participants showed an increased sensitivity to reward characteristics and a decreased response to loss outcomes. This contrasts with those not at risk whose FRNs were sensitive to losses. As the results did not replicate previous research showing attenuated FRNs in pathological gamblers, it is likely that the size and time of the FRN does not change gradually with increasing risk of maladaptive behaviour. Instead, changes in ACC activity reflected by the FRN in general can be observed only after behaviour becomes clinically maladaptive or through comparison between different types of gain/loss outcomes.

The time-course of lexical activation in Japanese morphographic word recognition: Evidence for a character-driven processing model

This lexical decision study with eye tracking of Japanese two-kanji-character words investigated the order in which a whole two-character word and its morphographic constituents are activated in the course of lexical access, the relative contributions of the left and the right characters in lexical decision, the depth to which semantic radicals are processed, and how nonlinguistic factors affect lexical processes. Mixed-effects regression analyses of response times and subgaze durations (i.e., first-pass fixation time spent on each of the two characters) revealed joint contributions of morphographic units at all levels of the linguistic structure with the magnitude and the direction of the lexical effects modulated by readers’ locus of attention in a left-to-right preferred processing path. During the early time frame, character effects were larger in magnitude and more robust than radical and whole-word effects, regardless of the font size and the type of nonwords. Extending previous radical-based and character-based models, we propose a task/decision-sensitive character-driven processing model with a level-skipping assumption: Connections from the feature level bypass the lower radical level and link up directly to the higher character level.

Scottish Rite (Masonic Order) French Language Collection, 1787-1825, 1907, n.d.

The origins of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry can be traced to France around 1754, when a Chapter of Claremont was founded in Paris. Initially this chapter had seven degrees, but by 1758 there were twenty-five degrees, known as the Rite of Perfection. In 1761, Stephen Morin was appointed to introduce the Rite into the New World. He began with Kingston, Jamaica and San Domingo. Further establishments were made in New Orleans, LA(1763); Albany, NY (1767); Philadelphia, PA (1782); and Charleston, SC (1783). In order to improve the disorganized state of the degrees in Europe, “Grand Constitutions” were enacted in 1786. These Constitutions formally brought into existence the “Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite”. None of the degrees of the Scottish Rite would seem to have origins in Scotland. “Scottish” is translated from the French word “Ecossais”, which is found in some of the French titles of some of the degrees of the Rite of Perfection. It is possible that the Scottish connection is a result of the involvement of a Scotsman, Andrew Michael Ramsey, who may have devised some of the degrees.

Photograph - Julia Canby French

Black and white photograph, 10 cm x 6 cm, of Julia Canby French.

Photograph - Julia Canby French (smaller image)

Black and white, 16 ½ cm x 11 ½ cm, of Julia Canby French (this is a larger versions of the photo listed above).

Oral French Communication in French Immersion Canadian and World Studies Classrooms: A Primer for Educators

This project presents a primer for secondary French Immersion teachers that facilitates the use of French oral communicative activities in secondary Canadian and World Studies courses. The primer supports collaborative and inclusive teaching strategies that invite students to speak and develop their oral French communication skills. The primer is divided into 2 main components: (a) Rationale for the Primer, and (b) the Strategies themselves, comprising succinct descriptions as well as potential uses and suggestions. A critical content analysis of various Ontario Ministry of Education documents was undertaken in order to explore the importance of oral communication in second-language learning in Ontario secondary schools. Furthermore, holistic and invitational education perspectives were examined in order to define the advantages of collaborative learning. Moreover, research in the stream of French Immersion studies was also referenced to frame the relevance of second-language learning and the significant role the French Immersion teacher plays. The aforementioned research contributes to the advancement of theory and practice regarding the importance of opportunities for oral French communication in secondary Canadian and World Studies courses.

Letter to Samuel Keefer, engineer on the Welland Canal from Charles H. French

Letter to Samuel Keefer, engineer on the Welland Canal from Charles H. French. He says that he has no extra bills for work on his contract, Sept. 12, 1848.

Letter in French to J.P. Bradley from his brother Samuel Bradley from Rimouski, Quebec

Letter in French to J.P. Bradley from his brother Samuel Bradley from Rimouski, Quebec (3 pages, handwritten), Nov. 1839.

Letter in French to J.P. Bradley from his brother Samuel Bradley

Letter in French to J.P. Bradley from his brother Samuel Bradley (2 pages, handwritten), Jan. 1, 1840.